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Jason Taylor on possible return: ‘I know I can play’

MIRAMAR — Jason Taylor made it sound Friday like he’ll be up for the opportunity if the Dolphins want him for another season.

“I can play. I know I can play,” Taylor said at an appearance at the Miramar Youth Enrichment Center. “It’s a matter of being in the right position and utilizing my talents in the right way.”

Taylor and DJ Irie, who works as a DJ as Miami Heat home games, were on hand for the creation of “Irie’s DJ Spiniversity,” in which 25-30 students from three Broward County schools get the opportunity each week to learn DJ skills from teachers at the Scratch DJ Academy in Miami. Taylor provides financial backing for the program, which is held at the Jason Taylor Reading Room at the facility.

Taylor declined to take sides in the ongoing saga involving fellow linebacker Joey Porter and the Dolphins, though he did say he was grateful after Porter “went to bat for me” in Taylor’s efforts to return to the Dolphins last season after playing one year in Washington.

“Obviously I have a lot of respect for Joey. I don’t know where he and the team stand.

“I’m not sure where his road is gonna take him, (but) if it doesn’t work out and he has to play with another team, he’s still Joey Porter, he’ll play at a high level. We know in the locker room what he brings to the team and the things he was dealing with. He was fun.”

Taylor, who will turn 36 on Sept. 1, had a solid season in 2009, finishing with 42 tackles and tying for second on the team with seven sacks. He started 15 games at strongside linebacker and also forced three fumbles, had five passes defensed and an interception.

Asked to assess the campaign, Taylor replied, “It was rewarding to come back home and play in front of my fans, to be back in Dolphin Stadium and back in the (training) facility. Obviously, winning-wise it wasn’t what I wanted or anybody wanted.

“We had a chance in December to do some things and we didn’t do them. I like the direction the team is heading.”

Asked if he’s begun determining his future, he said it’s too early for that.

“There’s nothing to decide right now. The Senior Bowl’s going on, the Combine’s coming up, so teams are looking for replacements right now. There’s a time and place for everything, and right now isn’t the time for free agency to get going. So they’re looking for replacements; if teams don’t find who they want, then your phone starts ringing.”

Taylor said he’s known new Dolphin D-coordinator Mike Nolan since his own Senior Bowl 13 years ago, when Nolan coached him in the same role. “He was with the Redskins and they must not have liked me too much because they didn’t draft me,” he said with a smile. He added that he has reached out to ex-Dolphin teammate Vonnie Holliday, who played under Nolan at Denver last season, but hasn’t hear back yet.

Taylor said he will live in South Florida once he does retire — and said anyone wondering why need only check Friday’s 75-degree weather.

“Life is good,” he said. “But it’s a business and we’ll see where it takes us.”